Origin and release year: South Korea (2024 – I-LAND 2 N/A)
Storyteller: Song Kang
Producers: Teddy (Lead Producer), BIGBANG Tae Yang, Monika, Lee Jung, VVN, 24
Warning! This article contains spoilers!!!
Mnet is back with yet another survival show called I-LAND 2 N/A. It’s the sequel to season one I-LAND where the BE:LIFT Lab boy group ENHYPEN was formed. This time around, it’s time to form an iconic girl group (later confirmed as izna) that has never existed before in K-Pop. Check out our impressions of the show.
Other I-LAND 2 articles: Episode 2 Recap & Review | Episodes 3, 4, & 5 Recap & Review | Here Are The Final “I-LAND 2 N/A” Winners & Members That Will Debut In The Girl Group izna
Make sure to follow The Muse Culture’s Facebook and Twitter for more updates about the show!
First impressions after watching the first episode:
Firstly, the set design was quite intriguing and beautiful. It felt like we were entering a sparkly planet of possibilities.
The message behind ‘N/a’ which is equivalent to ‘나’ meaning ‘me’ in Korean but representing the unique perspective (N) of alpha (infinite possibilities), was quite interesting.
We were introduced to the ideal trainee space I-LAND and the place of elimination GROUND before being introduced to the contestants.
Units & Their Expected Rankings & Self-Evaluation Rankings
The girls were asked how they expected to rank in the competition and the contestants ranked each other too and those rankings were revealed as follows.
Order = name – expected ranking – self-evaluation ranking*
First Unit
Ryu Sa Rang (유사랑) – Second – Third
Son Ju Won (손주원) – First – Sixth
Um Ji Won (엄지원) – First – Seventh
Kim Min Sol (김민솔) – Third – Twelfth
Second Unit
Fuko (후코) – Second – Second
Kim Gyu Ri (김규리) – Third – Sixteenth
Park Ye Eun (박예은) – Tenth – Nineteenth
Kang Ji Won (강지원) – Fourth – Twenty third
Kim Chae Eun (김채은) – Twenty fourth – Twenty-fourth
Third Unit
Yuiko (유이코) – not revealed – Seventeenth
Nana (나나) – not revealed – Eighteenth
Choi Soul (최소울) – not revealed – Twentieth
Kim Eun Chae (김은채) – not revealed – Twenty-first
Fourth Unit
Koko (코코) – not revealed – Fifth
Yui (유이) – not revealed – Tenth
Nam Yu Ju (남유주) – not revealed – Fourteenth
Fifth Unit
Jeong Sae Bi (정세비) – not revealed – Eighth
Kim Su Jeong (김수정) – not revealed – Thirteenth
Ling Ling (링링) – not revealed – Fifteenth
Oh Yu Na (오유나) – not revealed – Twenty-second
Sixth Unit
Choi Jeong Eun (최정은) – not revealed – First
Bang Ji Min (방지민) – not revealed – Fourth
Mai (마이) – not revealed – Ninth
Yoon Ji Yoon (윤지윤) – not revealed – Eleventh
Next, the contestants had to do an entrance test performance in which only 12 contestants would be safe as ‘I-LAND IN’ (with a minimum of 3 votes out of 5) and the rest would be ‘I-LAND OUT’ and sent to the GROUND.
REVIEW OF the entrance test performances & Test Results:
First Unit – ‘UNFORGIVEN’ by LE SSerafim
The first unit performed ‘UNFORGIVEN’ by LE SSERAFIM. Firstly, Ryu Sa Rang‘s vocal tone stood out immediately and started the performance off on the right note. Her vocals were the best out of her unit and whilst all the girls had decent stage presence, there was something about her that drew you in.
The other member of this unit who stood out was Kim Min Sol. You can’t quite pin it but you just get drawn into the sass and attitude during her performance.
Results:
Ryu Sa Rang (유사랑) – I-LAND IN (5 votes)
Son Ju Won (손주원) – I-LAND IN (4 votes)
Um Ji Won (엄지원) – I-LAND OUT (2 votes)
Kim Min Sol (김민솔) – I-LAND IN (4 votes)
Second Unit – ‘After Like’ by IVE
The second unit performed ‘After Like’ by IVE. Fuko? Once again, perfect choice to start the song off. She was giving the idol vibes that we all enjoy watching live – very captivating and pretty.
It might be because this group was overall not very good to the point where when a member was at least decent they stood out… But Kim Gyu Ri also immediately grabbed your attention and was a treat to the ear. We’d have to wait and see how she performs in a stronger group, though.
One thing we will give this group is that their synchronicity was on point. The spacing was unfortunate though.
Results:
Fuko (후코) – I-LAND IN (5 votes)
Kim Gyu Ri (김규리) – I-LAND IN (5 votes)
Park Ye Eun (박예은) – I-LAND OUT (0 votes)
Kang Ji Won (강지원) – I-LAND OUT (1 vote)
Kim Chae Eun (김채은) – I-LAND OUT (1 vote)
Third Unit – ‘CAKE’ by ITZY
The third unit performed ‘CAKE’ by ITZY. This was a mixed review, to be honest. The cuteness and the detailed little accents at the start of their performance were quite distracting because when you finally got over them and started listening… It seemed a little bit off.
The vocals were not bad but not fantastic either. The dance felt slightly messy too… It just wasn’t giving what it was supposed to. The stage presence was popping but it wasn’t enough.
Results:
Yuiko (유이코) – I-LAND IN (3 votes)
Nana (나나) – I-LAND OUT (0 votes)
Choi Soul (최소울) – I-LAND IN (3 votes)
Kim Eun Chae (김은채) – I-LAND IN (3 votes)
Fourth Unit – ‘Baggy Jeans’ by NCT U
The fourth unit performed ‘Baggy Jeans’ by NCT U. This team won us over even before the performance started. They all seemed to have that idol ‘it’ factor. In fact, these are the kind of members that even if they don’t make the final debut group for this show, they’ll get swooped up by other agencies ready to debut new groups in no time.
Unfortunately, the performance kind of got worse as it went on. At first, they were very charismatic and had the nonchalant swagger going on but as the choreography got more difficult it just seemed like they couldn’t keep up with the breathing and switching between vocals and rap. Maybe not the best song choice but these girls had potential.
Results:
Koko (코코) – I-LAND IN (3 votes)
Yui (유이) – I-LAND IN (3 votes)
Nam Yu Ju (남유주) – I-LAND OUT (2 votes)
Fifth Unit – ‘Sweet Venom’ by ENHYPEN
The fifth unit performed ‘Sweet Venom’ by ENHYPEN. Now this was an idol stage! This group was oozing unity, charisma, and force from the moment go, thanks to being collectively good in the dance department. Naturally, Kim Su Jeong‘s role in that was quite big, too.
Jeong Sae Bi‘s vocal color? Out of this world. She has such a beautiful and unique tone that just makes you want to listen to it even more. We hate to say it but Oh Yu Na made us say, “Oh! Yu Na!” when her voice went out. It can happen but it’s such a shame because she seems to have a decent voice.
Despite the little hiccup, this was one of the best performances.
Results:
Jeong Sae Bi (정세비) – I-LAND IN (4 votes)
Kim Su Jeong (김수정) – I-LAND IN (5 votes)
Ling Ling (링링) – I-LAND OUT (2 votes)
Oh Yu Na (오유나) – I-LAND OUT (0 votes)
SIXTH Unit – ‘DRAMA’ by aespa
The sixth unit performed ‘Drama’ by aespa, This unit??? Debut them right now! We’ve seen what we need to. This performance was so good and really solidified why they got called the Avengers unit.
Yoon Ji Yoon has the most stunning vocal color on the show. Actually no, she’s tied with Choi Jeong Eun. We’re not sure what’s in the water they drink but both of their vocal colors are golden. The live ability? So stable, too.
Results:
Choi Jeong Eun (최정은) – I-LAND IN (5 votes)
Bang Ji Min (방지민) – I-LAND IN (5 votes)
Mai (마이) – I-LAND IN (4 votes)
Yoon Ji Yoon (윤지윤) – I-LAND IN (4 votes)
However, by the end of the rankings, the amount of I-LAND IN members were too many (16 out of 12) which we assumed meant that 4 members needed to be cut and sent to the GROUND.
The 16 members had to vote amongst themselves (for the person they wished to perform with the most) to kick out 4 members.
One of the contestants was given a special exemption thanks to being the judges’ one-pick. The contenders for the judge’s one-pick were Ryu Sa Rang, Fuku, and Choi Jeong Eun – with Choi Jeong Eun taking the one-pick prize in the end.
The 4 contestants who were voted to the GROUND were: Kim Min Sol, Kim Eun Chae, Yuiko, and Choi Soul.
Final thoughts on EPisode 1 of I-LAND 2 N/A:
Firstly, this is a sidenote but someone needs to say it… Somebody, please get Ye Eun some media training because the girl is saying too much.
Back to the main opinion… The show is overall quite fun and brings back that excitement factor that survival shows have been lacking as of late. It will be very interesting to see who the underdogs that rise to the top are and if the top contestants can maintain their places,
What did you think of I-LAND 2 N/A? Let us know your thoughts and your favorite contestant in the comments!